Mechanical and electrical thermostatic alarm actuator



L. F. AMPRIM MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL THERMOSTATIC Feb. 7, 1950 ALARMACTUATOR Filed June 25, 1946 Inventor A AM Attorneyf Patented Feb. 7,1950 UNITED: STATES MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL THERMO- STATIC ALARMACTUATOR Lawrence F. Amprim, Detroit, Mich.

Application June 25, 1946, Serial No. 679,041

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to new and useful improvements and structuralrefinements in warning devices, and the principal object of theinvention is to provide a device of the character described herein, suchas may be effectively and conveniently employed for issuing audible andvisible signals, when. the temperature of its surroundings reaches apredetermined degree.

A further object of the invention is to provide a warning device which,by virtue of the construction and. operation above outlined, may beeffectively employed in association with chimneys, stove pipes, oilburners, and other forms of heating equipment.

Another object of the invention is to provide a warning device which isentirely self-contained and therefore, independent in operation ofexternal actuating agents such as electric supply of the building inwhich it is used.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a warning devicewhich is simple in construction, dependable in operation, and whichcannot easily become damaged.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a warning devicewhich will readily lend itself to economical manufacture.

With the above more important objects in view, and such other objects asmay become apparent as this specification proceeds, the inventionconsists essentially of the arrangement and construction of parts asillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a frontelevation of the invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof.

Figure 3 is a further front elevation, the same being enlarged andpartially broken away, and

Figure 4 is an underside plan view of the invention.

Like characters of reference are used to designate like parts in thespecification and throughout the several views.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the inventionembodies in its construction a warning device designated generally bythe reference character 5, consisting of a suitable housing 6, such asmay be conveniently attached by the mounting strap '1, or the like, to astructure with which it is used, the latter being exemplified in thedrawings by the chimney 8.

The housing 6 accommodates a clockwork mechanism designated collectivelyby the reference character 9, this including a winding shaft I0,suitable step-up gearing II and the escapement mechanism I 2.

The latter includes an escapement wheel l3 and a co-acting rocker 14,which in turn, is associated with an alarm actuating hammer [5.

This hammer co-acts with a pair of suitable bells it mounted on theextension I! of the housing 6.

A starting lever i8 is formed medially of its length with an arcuated,loop-like portion constituting what may be referred to as a detent l9.This detent engages a seat assuming the form of an aperture provided inthe housing 6, and. it will be noted that one end of the arm I8 is inengagement with the teeth of the escapement Wheel t3, while itsremaining end protrudes from the housing and is connected to one end ofa fusible link 29.

The remaining end of this link is secured to a resilient contact arm 2I, this being configurated substantially as shown and attached to thehousing 6 by means of an insulating bolt 22.

A further, relatively rigid contact arm 23 is secured to the housing 6by means of a further bolt 24, and it will be observed that the two armsare positioned in a relatively adjacent relationship, as is best shownin the accompanying Figure 3.

When the invention is placed in use, the device is mounted in positionas has been already explained, and the terminal screws 22, 24 are usedfor connecting the device by means of the conductors 25 to a visiblewarning element (not shown) such as an incandescent lamp.

It will be noted that the link 20 will normally hold the resilient arm2| in a separated relationship with respect to the stationar arm 23,

whereby the two arms will constitute what may be referred to as anormally open switch. At the same time, the inner end of the lever 18will engage the escapement wheel l3, thus preventing the actuation ofthe clockwork mechanism 9.

When the temperature of the chimney rises to a predetermined degree, thefusible link 20 will, of course, melt, thereby freeing the lever 18 andpermitting the mechanism 9 to actuate the hammer l5. An audible warningsignal will thus be produced.

Simultaneously with the melting of the link 20, the contact arm 2| willbe released and by virtue of its inherent resiliency, will contact thearm 23, thereby completing the circuit through the conductors 25. Theassociated lamp (not shown) will produce a visible warning signal, andthe advantages of the invention thus become clearly apparent.

It is believed that the advantages and use of the invention will beclearly understood from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly,further descriptions thereof at this point is considered unnecessary.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferredembodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor changesin the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts maybe resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as claimed.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A thermostatic actuating means for use with a housing and a clockworkmechanism positioned therein, said mechanism including an escapement,comprising a Wall of said housing having an aperture, a starting leverpivotally mounted medially of its length, one end of said leverextending through said aperture and engaging said escapement andnormally preventing actuation of the mechanism, a fusible link securedat one end thereof to the remaining end of said lever, and a pair ofnormally open contact arms mounted on said housing, the remaining end ofsaid link being secured to one of said arms, and the fusing of said linksimultaneously closing said arms to complete an electrical circuit andto release said starting lever from said escapement.

2. A thermostatic actuating means for use with a clockwork mechanism andincluding an escapement, comprising a casing for said mechanism, astarting lever pivoted on the wall of said casing and extending throughsaid casing and having the inner end thereof in a position normallyengaging said escapement, a pair of contacts on the outside of saidcasing for connection in a circuit to be closed simultaneously with theoperation of the clockwork mechanism, a fusible link connecting one ofsaid contacts with the outer end of said starting lever, said linknormally holding said starting lever in said position and simultaneouslyholding one of said contacts out of contact with the other of saidcontacts, said one of said contacts being biased toward the othercontact, whereby said starting lever is released and said contactsclosed on the fusion of said link.

3. A thermostatic actuating means for use with a clockwork mechanism,comprising a casing having an aperture therein, a starting lever pivotedon the casing and having one end extending through said aperture forengagement with said mechanism, a pair of electrical contacts connectedin an electrical circuit and mounted on the casing, one of said contactsbeing spring biased toward the other contact, and a fusible linkconnected to and between the other end of said starting lever and saidspring biased contact so that on fusion of the link the starting leverreleases the mechanism and said contacts are closed.

LAWRENCE F. AMPRIM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,112,226 Miller Sept. 29, 19141,383,060 Baldwin June 28, 1921 1,405,251 Anderson Jan. 31, 19221,910,347 Martel May 23, 1933 1,984,140 Kohlndorfer Dec. 11, 1934

